


Five Steaks

by adrianna_m_scovill



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Adoption, F/M, Family Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-14
Updated: 2020-01-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:34:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22250374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adrianna_m_scovill/pseuds/adrianna_m_scovill
Summary: For a request - Benson adopting her brother Simon's daughter, Olivia.I wasn't really sure how to go about writing this prompt in under 2k so it turned into basically fluff...
Relationships: Rafael Barba/Olivia Benson
Comments: 7
Kudos: 112





	Five Steaks

“So…time to take a breath, huh? We all know you’ve mastered motherhood, everything should be a breeze now.”

Benson rolled her eyes and smiled. “Mastered, right.” She let out a slow breath and shook her head. “I really don’t know how to thank you, Rafael. For everything.”

“Mm,” he answered, tapping his fingers against his leg. “It was pretty straight-forward. Langan—or hell, any pimply-faced grad student—”

“No,” she said, and he fell silent. “There’s no one else I would’ve trusted with this.” He’d put up token resistance when she’d first called him for help, reminding her that it wasn’t his area of expertise, but they both knew that refusing her plea had never been a real option for him.

“Well.” Barba nibbled his lip for a moment. “Glad I could help.”

She looked down at the paperwork on the table and touched it with her fingertips. Everything was finalized, official, legal. Her brother’s daughter, Olivia—named after her, of course—and stepson Ty were now legally her children. Noah’s cousins, technically, but now his siblings.

She was a mother of three.

One of them was a teenager.

Luckily for her, Ty was a good, responsible kid. He had an afterschool job, and good grades, and he probably could’ve made a convincing case for staying with a family friend until he was old enough for emancipation, so he could stay in the same school district. But Benson, as Simon’s only living relative—and, after the death of her mother, _Olivia’s_ only living relative—had been given temporary guardianship of the little girl without much hassle.

Ty had refused to be separated from his sister, so Benson had agreed to take him in while the legalities were sorted out. She’d been pleasantly surprised by how quickly they all adapted. Noah and Olivia got along well, and Noah practically worshipped Ty.

“You want to stay for dinner?” Benson asked Barba.

“I, um.” He glanced toward the living room where the three kids were on the sofa, watching a movie. “I should probably let you all settle in…”

“Barba,” she said in her _don’t be ridiculous_ voice, “they’ve been living here for weeks, having the paperwork finalized is a relief but I think we’re settling pretty well.”

“Of course. But, you know. First official night as a family. I wouldn’t want to—”

“You’re family. Come on—you have something better to do?”

The ghost of a smile touched his lips. “No.”

“I have an extra steak with your name on it.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Steak?”

“Five ribeyes, ready to go.”

“Hmm. Bought a five-pack, huh?” he asked, and she smiled at the skepticism in his expression.

“Actually, they were out of family packs. I bought five individual steaks.”

“Oh,” he said, because there was no way to get around the fact that she’d deliberately bought one for him. He looked at her, trying to gather the courage he needed to say what he wanted to say. “Liv, do you think we could—”

“Rafael?” Barba turned, surprised, at the sound of Ty’s voice. The three kids were approaching, with the teenager in the lead. He looked hesitant, and said, “Sorry if I’m interrupting, I just wanted to make sure you didn’t leave until we gave you this.” He held out a square package, wrapped in silver paper, with a card taped to the top. It said _Uncle Rafa_. “That’s Noah’s idea,” Ty rushed to explain as Barba took the present. Based on the size of the box, he was guessing it was a mug. “I mean, me and Olivia won’t call you that if you don’t—”

“No, that’s fine,” Barba said, looking down at the gift in bemusement. “Whatever you want to call…What’s this for?”

Ty glanced at his sister. “For helping make sure we got to stay together.”

“Oh, well, that’s because of Liv, really,” Barba said, gesturing toward Benson. “I just—”

“It’s not much,” Ty said. “It’s only a little thing to say thanks. Noah picked it out.”

Barba looked at Benson, but she shrugged and smiled. Barba opened the card. It said _Thank You!_ on the front, and inside the kids had each signed their name. Barba cleared his throat, alarmed by how emotional he was suddenly feeling. He tore open the silver paper and opened the box to pull out the mug.

**World’s**

**Best**

**~~Uncle~~ **

**~~Lawyer~~ **

**EVERYTHING!**

Barba smiled, blinking the moisture from his lashes. Noah was beaming at him, so Barba reached out to pull him into a quick hug. “Thank you, guys. This means a lot.”

“Are you staying for dinner?” Noah asked.

“It looks like I am,” Barba said, shooting Benson a quick smile.

“Can we help?” Olivia asked.

“Oh, that’s okay, honey, you three go finish your movie,” Benson answered.

Barba watched the kids head back toward the living room, and then he turned to Benson and held up the mug.

“Wasn’t me,” she said, holding up her hands in response. “They know you’ve been working hard to make sure everything was in order.”

“I’d hardly say it was—”

“No, you wouldn’t,” she cut in, “but you and I both know that the wrong judge could’ve taken one look at this apartment, and my salary, and my marital status, and laughed at the idea of me taking in two more kids.”

Barba walked over and set his mug and card on the table. Benson took the crumpled wrapping paper from him and threw it away. “So…about that marital status part…”

Benson laughed. “Subtle,” she accused.

Barba smiled. “No, but seriously. Are you seeing anyone?”

She raised her eyebrows and spread her arms. “When would I have time?”

He chewed the inside of his cheek and looked down at the table. “How are they adjusting? I mean, really?”

She sighed and walked over to sit at the table. “Not bad, all things considered. They’re still grieving. Olivia’s had some nightmares, Ty’s a little too eager to please sometimes, you know, but…they’re good kids, and they’re close, so they’re helping each other deal with everything. And they’re both good with Noah. We’re going to need to find a bigger place, which is a terrifying prospect, but…it’s good, you know?”

Barba nodded. He hesitated a moment before pulling out a chair to sit beside her. “Well, if I can help with anything…”

She reached out to cover his hand on the table. She seemed about to say something, but stopped herself. She smiled and said instead, “I should start dinner.”

“Can I help?”

“Sure, if you want.”

“Wait, Liv,” he said, quickly sandwiching her hand between both of his when she moved to stand. “I’d like to take you out to dinner sometime. If you’ll let me. I know things’ll be hectic for a while—”

“You know I’m a single mother of three?” she teased.

“Yes, but your kids are better than most,” he returned, earning a laugh.

“You’re only saying so because they bought you a present.”

“It didn’t hurt,” he answered with a grin.

She glanced toward the living room and leaned closer, lowering her voice. “Are you trying to sleep with me, Barba?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm,” she said, letting her gaze slide to his lips. “I guess we could give it a shot.”

He snorted softly. “I will give it my very best shot,” he said.


End file.
